Chris 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (1771)

• On the post: Comparing Cell Phones To Houses Not Exactly Deterring Use Of Generalized Warrants, Court Finds

  

  Chris ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2016 @ 07:40am

  Re:

  What section of this article seemed "annoyed" to you? It seemed to me like a "this is an interesting court case that tests some boundaries" post, rather than a "railing against the cops" post.

• On the post: FBI Deploying Large-Scale Hacking With Little To No Judicial Oversight

  

  Chris ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2016 @ 05:30am

  Re:

  To be entrapment, they would have to persuade or convince you to do something you otherwise wouldn't have done without their interference. If an FBI agent had called you up out the blue, told you about the site, and then asked you to sign up, that would be entrapment.
  
  This isn't even close to entrapment, however, since they didn't invite anyone to sign up. It's even less entrapment than it would be if the site were on the clearnet, since dark net sites have to be searched out specifically.

• On the post: FBI Deploying Large-Scale Hacking With Little To No Judicial Oversight

  

  Chris ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2016 @ 05:25am

  Re:

  all of which, except for the last item of course, are things any server receives as a matter of course while transacting ordinary business.

  Not over Tor, however, which suggests an exploit in the browser to tell it to send data outside of Tor. Probably a JavaScript hack, since there's already precedent for using malicious scripts to de-mask Tor users, IIRC.

• On the post: Can You Defame Someone By Directly Creatively 'Quoting' Them? New York Court Says You Can.

  

  Chris ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2015 @ 12:25pm

  Re:

  Indeed, it reminds me of that apocryphal sailor story where the first mate enters into his logbook: "Captain sober today."

• On the post: Thou Shall Not Browse: Comcast Refuses Service Call To Chicago Church Out Of Fear

  

  Chris ( profile ), 13 Nov, 2015 @ 07:13am

  Not Just Comcast

  This happened a couple months ago: Bright House Ends Service at Tymber Skan After Technician Held at Gunpoint

• On the post: Democrats Screw Over Larry Lessig To Keep Him Out Of The Debates; Forces Lessig To Drop His Campaign

  

  Chris ( profile ), 02 Nov, 2015 @ 12:32pm

  Flashbacks to Ron Paul's Campaign

  Remember: Your vote is really important! Not in the "representation" manner, mind you, but in the "we need your sanction to abuse you" manner.
  
  Now get in line and pull the lever for one of our carefully pre-selected candidates. Which lever doesn't matter, just as long as you pull a lever.

• On the post: Lego Tells Political Artist To Hit The Bricks, Refusing To Sell Him Legos

  

  Chris ( profile ), 29 Oct, 2015 @ 08:02am

  Re: Re: Purpose Served

  Mike points out that this is not a one off: They decline to fill orders where the goal is overtly and publicly political, independent of content. Your examples don't really make sense, in that context.
  

  "Allowing corporations to keep control over what end users who purchase their products do"

  They aren't "controlling" what he does with his blocks, and they haven't tried to. They simply refused to sell to him.
  
  If they had sent him a ridiculous legal threat telling him how he could or couldn't use blocks he had purchased, you'd have a point, but they didn't.

• On the post: Lego Tells Political Artist To Hit The Bricks, Refusing To Sell Him Legos

  

  Chris ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2015 @ 09:27pm

  Purpose Served

  Whatever hope LEGO had of minimizing the political impact of Weiwei's art has been dashed by its own actions.

  I don't think they wanted to "minimize the political impact" of his work; I think the point was to keep the public image of the company politically neutral. If he gets them from a third party, he gets the make his art, and they have it on record that it wasn't officially sanctioned by the company. Win-win.

• On the post: Daily Deal: The Complete Raspberry Pi 2 Starter Kit

  

  Chris ( profile ), 06 Oct, 2015 @ 01:49pm

  Re:

  Indeed, Amazon has the Pi 2 + Starter kit for $69.99. Who's paying $200 an ebook??

• On the post: Business With Shady History Sues Former Employee For Calling It Shady

  

  Chris ( profile ), 01 Oct, 2015 @ 07:05am

  Word Choice

  Theft of a client list is still theft

  Actual theft, or just copying?

• On the post: Photographer Loses Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Mapmaker That Used His Photo With His Explicit Permission

  

  Chris ( profile ), 21 Aug, 2015 @ 12:18pm

  Re:

  There is no such thing as automatic copyright.

  Not only are you factually wrong regarding automatic copyright, but also off-topic. The issue before the court was not whether or not the photo was covered by copyright (it was), but what terms it was licensed under.

• On the post: School, Police Chief Must Face Lawsuit Brought By Student Suspended For 10 Days For Tweeting 'Actually, Yes'

  

  Chris ( profile ), 14 Aug, 2015 @ 09:36am

  Someone Doesn't Know How Gravatars Work

  I like how the Anonymous Troll on this thread doesn't seem to realize that we can tell that all of his/her posts defending the school are from the same IP address.

• On the post: Anti-Whistleblower 'Ag-Gag' Law Ruled Unconstitutional

  

  Chris ( profile ), 04 Aug, 2015 @ 11:12am

  Re: Re: Citizens United [was Re: ]

  I recall that it's already become one of the most infamous and obviously evil Supreme Court cases of all time, on par with the Dred Scott

  Yes, a ruling stating that the government cannot stop groups of people from expressing their political opinions close to an election is "evil" and "on par" with a ruling stating that black people can't be citizens.
  
  Get a grip.

• On the post: Github Nukes Repository Over Use Of The Word 'Retard'

  

  Chris ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2015 @ 03:33pm

  Re: Not Surprised

  For example, this amazing sentence: "Our open source community prioritizes marginalized people’s safety over privileged people’s comfort."

• On the post: Spanish Cops Use New Law To Fine Facebook Commenter For Calling Them 'Slackers'

  

  Chris ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2015 @ 09:46am

  Re:

  Well, that depends on where and when you say it. If it was on Facebook (as in the original story), you'd be in the clear. Say it when a cop pulls you over, and there's a good chance they might just "fear for their life" and have to put 12 rounds into you.

• On the post: Github Nukes Repository Over Use Of The Word 'Retard'

  

  Chris ( profile ), 03 Aug, 2015 @ 03:31pm

  Not Surprised

  This is Github's new Code of Conduct. Read through it and see if it looks like something a reasonable company would use.

• On the post: Even If You Think Kim Dotcom Is Guilty As Sin, The US Government Stealing His Assets Should Concern You

  

  Chris ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2015 @ 09:17am

  Re:

  asset forfeiture proceedings are legal
  
  kim dotcom can send his lawyers to fight in in court

  I know it's asking way too much of the mouthbreathing bootlickers who infest this comment section, but if you had exercised any reading comprehension whatsoever, you'd have processed that the government is trying to prevent him from even challenging the civil forfeiture in court.

• On the post: Kickstarter Still Setting Records Despite Everyone Wanting Everything For Free

  

  Chris ( profile ), 30 Jun, 2015 @ 07:36am

  Re: "You want Shenmue 3? You'll get it. If you pay for it." -- Direct quote from:

  People aren't tossing money at unknowns

  [Citation Needed]
  
  Even a small company in a niche (though certainly expanding) culture like boardgaming can raise millions if the product is something people want.

• On the post: Nail Salon Owner Sues For Return Of Life Savings Seized By DEA Agents At Airport

  

  Chris ( profile ), 30 Jun, 2015 @ 07:13am

  Re: Re: Never give up

  When they do, make certain you don't allow them to "search" your wallet.

• On the post: Should Your Self-Driving Car Be Programmed To Kill You If It Means Saving A Dozen Other Lives?

  

  Chris ( profile ), 17 Jun, 2015 @ 07:27am

  Interesting, But Has Obvious Result

  While the idea of what a self-driving car should do is no doubt an important question to philosophers, in practical terms, the market is going to pick one, and I guarantee you it isn't going to be the one the promises to sacrifice the lives of you and your family to algorithmic utilitarianism.

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